{"id":185,"date":"2017-01-26T03:04:23","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T03:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/?p=185"},"modified":"2017-01-26T03:29:52","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T03:29:52","slug":"grieving-2-0-can-we-ever-move-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/2017\/01\/26\/grieving-2-0-can-we-ever-move-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Grieving 2.0: Can we ever move on?"},"content":{"rendered":"

While Episode 1, Season 2 of <\/span>Black Mirror<\/span><\/i> explores the desire to fill the emotional void associated with the death of a loved one, it more deeply examines how the process of grieving has changed due to advances in technology. As someone who has witnessed a lot of death in her life, I tried to connect Martha\u2019s grieving process to Elisabeth K<\/span>\u00fc<\/span>bler Ross\u2019 five stages of grief model: shock, denial, anger and guilt, despair and depression, and acceptance. Although I could easily identify some signs of grief in Martha\u2019s behavior, I had trouble determining whether she arrived at the final stage, acceptance. It appears as if Martha is unable to accept Ash\u2019s death because she never really let him die. This raises the question: how does the process of \u201cmourning,\u201d or \u201clamenting for the dead\u201d occur when the person who died isn\u2019t actually gone (OED)? Technology\u2019s ability to keep Ash \u201calive\u201d obstructed the grieving process for Martha, thereby bringing her more suffering and pain in the end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Black Mirror: Season 2 Episode 1. N.d. Billie Doux Reviews. Web. 25 Jan. 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the police officers arrive to inform Martha of Ash\u2019s passing, there is no dialogue; all we see is Martha open the door, look at the officers and the flashing lights outside, and close the door in their faces. These actions make it seem as if the audience is in Martha\u2019s head. Just as she slams the door before the officers can inform her of Ash\u2019s death, her mind simultaneously slams the door on the possibility that he is gone. This is a clear indication of denial, one of the stages of grief. Additionally, when Sarah informs Martha of a technology that would enable her to speak with Ash, Martha screams, \u201cShut up!\u201d which brings her emotions to a public level. The anger present in this instance also represents yet another stage of grief. At first, Martha grieves in \u201cnormal\u201d ways, but it is not until she develops an unhealthy attachment to the technological replica of Ash that her grieving process truly goes astray.<\/span><\/p>\n

One especially poignant moment in the episode occurs after Martha\u2019s ultrasound when she drops her phone containing Ash\u2019s voice on the ground. We see that the phone shatters and his voice disappears, leading Martha to believe that she has lost him forever. Immediately after she hears from Ash on her newly purchased device, she apologizes profusely for \u201cbreaking him.\u201d It is almost as if watching the phone crack and die was like experiencing Ash\u2019s death all over again, which does not help Martha progress in terms of her grieving process. This moment exemplifies how technology can intervene and intrude in the grieving process in ways that make it even harder to let go. Ash\u2019s statement, \u201cCalm down. I\u2019m not going anywhere,\u201d also masks the possibility that he could very well be lost again due to the fragility of technology. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Martha\u2019s unwillingness to accept Ash\u2019s passing becomes more apparent as she explores her relationship with his replica. She rejects many of his actions and identifies flaws in his behavior, claiming that the real Ash would not behave in ways the replica did. Although at times she wants to get rid of the replica, she is unable to because she is to some extent addicted to it. The addictive nature of this technology makes the acceptance stage of grief unattainable. Confining Ash to her attic confronts the idea\u00a0that her grieving process will never be complete and more broadly hints at the implications technology has on grief in society today.<\/span><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s world it has almost become ritualistic to grieve publicly. For instance, funeralOne<\/a>, a technology company, provides funeral homes with webcasting services and streams videos of funerals online for people to watch wherever and whenever. Watching a funeral on one\u2019s cellular device has now become a common occurrence which poses a threat to the traditional funeral industry. You can now light virtual candles<\/a> for loved ones on memorial websites, utilize online funeral home guest books, and address the dead in Facebook comments. With the amount of technology increasing within the realms of death and loss, we can put a hold on our grief and mourning processes because we are able to interact with the deceased in unprecedented ways. Will we ever be able to move on after a loved one passes? This episode of <\/span>Black Mirror <\/span><\/i>and advances in technology surrounding death reaffirm the need to reassess the stages of grief and the places we mourn as we enter a rapidly evolving digital climate. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Episode 1, Season 2 of Black Mirror explores the desire to fill the emotional void associated with the death of a loved one, it more deeply examines how the process of grieving has changed due to advances in technology. As someone who has witnessed a lot of death in her life, I tried to … <\/p>\n

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